Coast Guard Performs Operations in Asia
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The deployment of the US Coast Guard cutter Bertholf to the Asia-Pacific region earlier this year marked an expansion of Coast Guard operations there, reports The Washington Post. The Coast Guard is increasingly orienting itself toward China, senior officials said, by deploying new cutters, repositioning older ones, and dispatching service members to countries such as Vietnam and Sri Lanka to help train those nations’ coast guards.
The Blue Angels 2019 schedule will bring the demonstration team to the air show at Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs in May, reports airshowstuff.com. There will be a couple of other opportunities to see them perform in the skies over Maryland this year.
The US does not believe North Korea successfully launched a fully operational new weapon after Pyongyang claimed it had conducted a “new tactical guided weapons firing test” last week, reports CNN.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton has come under fire for what North Korea says is a “nonsense” call for that country to show it’s serious about giving up its nuclear weapons, reports Reuters. It is the second time North Korea has criticized a leading US official in less than a week. StateSec Mike Pompeo brushed off North Korean insults and demands that he be replaced by someone “more careful and mature” as the chief negotiator in denuclearization talks, The Washington Post reports.
StateSec Pompeo on Monday blamed “a horrific wave of Islamic radical terror” for the deadly bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday that killed hundreds, including some US citizens, reports The Hill.
Defense News reports US defense experts said South Korea’s acquisition decisions will focus on airborne systems with a price tag reaching $8.8 billion over the next five to six years.
China has built the world’s first stealth amphibious assault drone boat, reports Business Insider, and military experts believe it could eventually be headed to the disputed South China Sea.
Poland is nearing a deal with the US to establish an American military base in the former Communist bloc country, reports SFGate.
SpaceX suffered a setback Saturday when an accident of some kind sent a plume of orange smoke rising from the pad where its Crew Dragon astronaut capsule’s escape system engines were being tested, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune. SpaceX had been set to fly the capsule with a crew aboard on another test flight this year. It is unclear how Saturday’s incident could affect the launch schedule.
After a review of Silver Star awards, the US Army is upgrading 13 of them to the Distinguished Service Cross, reports Army Times. These soldiers fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Lawmakers and advocates are calling for a detailed review of the battlefield valor of African-American troops in World War I, saying many were denied the Medal of Honor due to racism, reports Military.com.
Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian with no political experience who plays the country’s president on television, won Ukraine’s presidential election, according to exit polls, reports Politico.
Contracts:
Ki Ho Military Acquisition Consulting, Inc. doing business as KIHOMAC, Inc., Reston, Virginia, is awarded a $19,185,381 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for services in support of Chief of Naval Operation’s calibration readiness models. Services to be provided include documentation, validation performance and improvement recommendations, logistic and technical analysis of calibration laboratories, development of metrology Navy e-Learning training packages, Metrology Requirements Management System proof of concept development, and engineering studies and reviews. Work will be performed at the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland (60 percent) and in Lexington Park, Maryland (28 percent); Layton, Utah (6 percent); Reston, Virginia (2 percent); Richardson, Texas (2 percent); and Satellite Beach, Florida (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N0042119D0062).
